Les Halles: history and sights
Served by: metro line 4.
Did you know?
Serves the site of Paris's former central marketplace, nicknamed 'the belly of Paris' by Émile Zola, which supplied the capital with fresh produce for eight centuries before moving to Rungis in 1969.
Anecdote
Émile Zola's 1873 novel 'The Belly of Paris' vividly depicts the bustling life of this former marketplace.
Around Les Halles
- Fontaine des Innocents, 230 m away — Paris's oldest monumental fountain, built in 1549 by Pierre Lescot and Jean Goujon for the royal entry of Henri II, now a listed historic monument.
- Forum des Halles, 90 m away — A vast underground shopping centre built on the site of Paris's former central market.
- Église Saint-Eustache, 150 m away — A vast Gothic and Renaissance church, renowned for its acoustics and grand organ.
- Bourse de Commerce, 270 m away — A former 18th-century circular building converted into a contemporary art museum by the Pinault Collection.